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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA | Brooks Koepka didn’t have to reintroduce himself to his peers at the Genesis Invitational last week but it had been a while.
Koepka’s start at Riviera Country Club, where he finished T43, was his first PGA Tour event in the United States since last October, when he missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
A troublesome left knee curtailed Koepka’s playing schedule and though he made his 2020 debut in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, he was still coping with knee soreness related to his patella tendon in Los Angeles.
“I feel stable, so that’s good. Just nowhere close to 100 percent but I don't know if I'll ever be,” said Koepka, whose 38-week run atop the world ranking ended prior to the Genesis Invitational.
“It's a work in progress every day, you know working on it trying to get stronger to make sure it’s ... It's stable right now that's the one thing, it's not as strong as I would've liked for it to be. It's not 100 percent, but it's getting there every day.”
Koepka (above) said his knee flared up on the Monday prior to the Genesis Invitational but he indicated it’s something he will deal with occasionally. Swinging the club, Koepka said, is not an issue.
“Playing golf doesn't affect it at all. It's when you start walking downhill, downhill is where I really feel it, but it hasn't been bad,” Koepka said.
Despite having made just two starts this calendar year, Koepka is bypassing the WGC-Mexico Championship this week. He is making small adjustments to his schedule this year though he hasn’t finalized his non-major plans beyond the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, Texas, in mid-March.
“I like the tougher golf courses which I think goes into the whole major thing, that's kind of how I'm trying to build my schedule,” Koepka said. “Trying to change what courses I play, what tournaments I play based on looking at not just previous scores but the golf courses (that are) tougher.
“I'm not going to compete very well if it's 18-under (par) every week. I haven't done my best there, and that's been a lot of the tournaments that I've played, so I'm curious to see how this change and a little bit of my schedule goes.”
Ron Green Jr.